Multiple zone layered mattress

ABSTRACT

This disclosure addresses mattresses. In particular, a mattress that includes a plurality of layers. A foam core of the mattress is constructed to have selected characteristics of support and cushioning, the characteristics varying from zone to zone of the mattress. The foam core includes at least three zones; a first zone corresponding generally to an area that supports the head of a user, a second zone corresponding generally to an area that supports the torso of the user, and a third zone corresponding generally to an area that supports the legs and feet of the user. A top surface of the foam core is formed with a plurality of parallel transverse peaks.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority of United States Design applicationSerial Number 29/748,357, filed Aug. 8, 2020, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to mattresses and moreparticularly is a mattress with multiple zones, each of which may havedifferent textures.

SUMMARY

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, a mattress deviceincludes a plurality of layers, the layers being chosen from variouscushioning and absorbent materials. The layers may be one or more ofcoil springs, fill material, foam, gel, and fiber. A mattress coverencloses and secure the layers.

At least one layer is a foam core formed with a plurality of zones. Eachof the zones is constructed to have selected characteristics of supportand cushioning, the characteristics varying from zone to zone. The foamcore typically has at least three zones; a first zone correspondinggenerally to an area that supports the head of a user, a second zonecorresponding generally to an area that supports the torso of the user,and a third zone corresponding generally to an area that supports thelegs and feet of the user.

A top surface of the foam core has a plurality of parallel transversepeaks. The top surface of the foam core may also include multiplecutouts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally similar elements throughout the separateviews, together with the detailed description below, illustrateembodiments of concepts that include the claimed disclosure, and explainvarious principles and advantages of those embodiments.

The methods and systems disclosed herein have been represented whereappropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only thosespecific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments ofthe present disclosure so as not to obscure the disclosure with detailsthat will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the arthaving the benefit of the description herein.

FIG. 1 is a partially broken side view of a mattress utilizing the padof the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of a pad element used in the mattressshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is directed to configurations of mattresses. Theconstruction utilizes multiple zones, each zone having a varyingpre-selected set of characteristics that conform to the zones of auser's body.

Referring first to FIG. 1, a mattress 100 includes multiple layers ofdifferent materials. One layer might be a coil spring layer 101. Thelayer of most interest in this disclosure is a foam core 102 layer,which typically is positioned on top of the spring layer. The foam coremay be covered by a fill material 103, and one or more pad or protectivelayers 104. The layers making up the mattress may include any or all offoam, gel, fiber, or other cushioning or absorbent materials. Inaddition to the composition of the layers, the order of the layers frombottom to top may be altered to fit the requirements of a givenmanufacturer.

FIG. 2 shows the foam core 102 of the mattress 100. The foam core 102has multiple zones. In FIG. 2, the core 102 is illustrated as havingthree zones, a first zone 201, a second zone 202, and a third zone 203.The number of zones chosen for the core 102 is an engineering decisionbased on desired characteristics for the mattress. In many embodiments,as illustrated in FIG. 2, the foam core 102 will include at least threezones: the first zone 201 corresponding generally to an area thatsupports the head of a user, the second zone 202 that correspondsgenerally to an area that supports the torso of the user, and the thirdzone 203 corresponding generally to an area that supports the legs andfeet of the user.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view take along line A-A in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 showsthe sculpted nature of the top surface of the foam core 102. The foamcore is generally formed from latex. The generic term for the materialis a latex foam rubber pad. Some examples of the typical latex materialsthat can be used are Dunlop® or Talalay®.

The latex pad is molded (or cut or otherwise machined) to form a seriesof transverse peaks 301 in the top surface of the core 102. Thetransverse peaks 301 can be nearly any shape desired by a manufacturer.In many preferred embodiments, the transverse peaks 301 are molded orcut to have a generally triangular shape as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and3. The apex of the peaks 301 may be rounded to increase comfort, as thepeaks 301 form a support surface for the user of the mattress 100. Asthe core 102 is formed from a pliable latex, nearly any shape can beused if desired.

The spacing of the peaks 301 is chosen to yield a desired supportcharacteristic. That is, if greater support is desired, the transversepeaks 301 will be spaced minimally. If less support is required, thenthe spacing between the transverse peaks 301 is increased. As shown inFIG. 2, in many embodiments, zones 201 and 203 on the foam core 102,which correspond generally to a user's head and legs and feet will havethe transverse peaks 301 spaced further apart than the transverse peaks301 in the second zone 202. The second zone 202 corresponds generally tothe main mass of a user's body. Thus in many preferred embodiments, thefirst zone 201 and the third zone 203 may have transverse peaks 301spaced two inches apart, while the second zone 202 may have transversepeaks 301 spaced an inch apart when measured peak to peak. The spacingcan of course be adjusted according to the characteristics sought in themattress. The variable spacing allows the mattress to provide greatersupport for a user's spine, while less support is given in the area ofthe head and feet of the user.

Also visible in FIG. 3 are multiple cutouts 302. The cutouts 302 providean additional method whereby the characteristics of the foam core 102can be modified. The cutouts 302 are formed in the latex pad when thefoam core 102 is being molded, typically by providing projections on themold itself. As shown in FIG. 3, the cutouts 302 may extend for varyingdepths from the surface into the interior of the foam core 102. In someembodiments, the cutouts 302 pass completely though the body of the foamcore 102. In addition to affecting the support and stiffness of the foamcore 102, the cutouts 302 allow the foam core to “breathe”. That is, thecutouts 302 provide a means for airflow into the foam core 102.

The technology disclosed herein addresses improved mattressconfigurations. The improvements disclosed are independent of the actualmaterials used.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the present disclosure in the form disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the presentdisclosure. Exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order tobest explain the principles of the present disclosure and its practicalapplication, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art tounderstand the present disclosure for various embodiments with variousmodifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the technology.As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprise”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

It will be understood that like or analogous elements and/or components,referred to herein, may be identified throughout the drawings with likereference characters. It will be further understood that several of thefigures are merely schematic representations of the present disclosure.As such, some of the components may have been distorted from theiractual scale for pictorial clarity.

In the foregoing description, for purposes of explanation and notlimitation, specific details are set forth, such as particularembodiments, procedures, techniques, etc. in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent toone skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced inother embodiments that depart from these specific details.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, theappearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” or“according to one embodiment” (or other phrases having similar import)at various places throughout this specification are not necessarily allreferring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features,structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner inone or more embodiments. Furthermore, depending on the context ofdiscussion herein, a singular term may include its plural forms and aplural term may include its singular form. Similarly, a hyphenated term(e.g., “on-demand”) may be occasionally interchangeably used with itsnon-hyphenated version (e.g., “on demand”), a capitalized entry (e.g.,“Software”) may be interchangeably used with its non-capitalized version(e.g., “software”), a plural term may be indicated with or without anapostrophe (e.g., PE's or PEs), and an italicized term (e.g., “N+1”) maybe interchangeably used with its non-italicized version (e.g., “N+1”).Such occasional interchangeable uses shall not be consideredinconsistent with each other.

Also, some embodiments may be described in terms of “means for”performing a task or set of tasks. It will be understood that a “meansfor” may be expressed herein in terms of a structure, such as aprocessor, a memory, an I/O device such as a camera, or combinationsthereof. Alternatively, the “means for” may include an algorithm that isdescriptive of a function or method step, while in yet other embodimentsthe “means for” is expressed in terms of a mathematical formula, prose,or as a flow chart or signal diagram.

While various embodiments have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example only, and notlimitation. The descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of theinvention to the particular forms set forth herein. To the contrary, thepresent descriptions are intended to cover such alternatives,modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and otherwiseappreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the breadth andscope of a preferred embodiment should not be limited by any of theabove-described exemplary embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mattress device, comprising: a plurality oflayers, the layers being chosen from various cushioning and absorbentmaterials, the layers being one or more of coil springs, fill material,foam, gel, and fiber; and a mattress cover to enclose and secure thelayers; wherein at least one layer is a foam core, the foam corecomprising a plurality of zones, each of the zones being constructed tohave selected characteristics of support and cushioning, thecharacteristics varying from zone to zone.
 2. The mattress of claim 1,wherein: the foam core is a latex foam rubber pad.
 3. The mattress ofclaim 1, wherein: a top surface of the foam core comprises a pluralityof transverse peaks.
 4. The mattress of claim 3, wherein: the transversepeaks are parallel.
 5. The mattress of claim 3, wherein: the transversepeaks are generally triangular in cross section.
 6. The mattress ofclaim 1, wherein: a top surface of the foam core includes multiplecutouts.
 7. The mattress of claim 1, wherein: the foam core comprises atleast three zones; a first zone corresponding generally to an area thatsupports the head of a user, a second zone corresponding generally to anarea that supports the torso of the user, and a third zone correspondinggenerally to an area that supports the legs and feet of the user.
 8. Themattress of claim 7, wherein: a top surface of the foam core comprises aplurality of transverse peaks, the transverse peaks being spaced moreclosely together in the second zone as compared to the transverse peaksin the first and third zones.
 9. A foam core adapted to be used in amattress, comprising: a plurality of zones, each of the zones beingconstructed to have selected characteristics of support and cushioning,the characteristics varying from zone to zone, the zones comprising afirst zone corresponding generally to an area that supports the head ofa user, a second zone corresponding generally to an area that supportsthe torso of the user, and a third zone corresponding generally to anarea that supports the legs and feet of the user.
 10. The mattress ofclaim 9, wherein: a top surface of the foam core comprises a pluralityof transverse peaks, the transverse peaks being spaced more closelytogether in the second zone as compared to the transverse peaks in thefirst and third zones.
 11. The mattress of claim 9, wherein: the foamcore is a latex foam rubber pad.
 12. The mattress of claim 9, wherein: atop surface of the foam core comprises a plurality of transverse peaks.13. The mattress of claim 12, wherein: the transverse peaks areparallel.
 14. The mattress of claim 12, wherein: the transverse peaksare generally triangular in cross section.
 15. The mattress of claim 9,wherein: a top surface of the foam core includes multiple cutouts.